Thorstein Bunde Veblen was born in Cato, Wisconsin, 30 July 1857 to Thomas and Kary Veblen, Norwegian immigrants.
He grew up in a Lutheran, mainly rural agricultural community, where waste and excess were condemned. Although his mother tongue was Norwegian, he quickly learned English and, later on, five other languages. From these early years, he learned values that would remain crucial for his entire life and work: the family and social solidarity and the devotion to handicraft - both values as sources of growth.